I Choose You
by blaineywainey
Summary: Kurt Hummel simply wants to be the best, like no-one ever was. But his life is interrupted by an irritating brunette, a mysterious team of Pokémon poachers, and a Gym Leader he can't get his mind off of. Eventual Klaine. An AKM Production.
1. Prologue

Kurt had dreamt that he was swimming.

Well, he wasn't swimming. The Wailmer he was securely holding onto was, though, and they zoomed across the water. The waves rippled violently as they passed. The Wailmer he had perched upon burst through a menacing wave, soaking Kurt to the bone, but they emerged victorious, droplets of water flying gracefully through the air.

They skidded on the water's very scalp, speeding faster and faster, closer and closer to land.

The Wailmer stopped on a dime and Kurt was thrown off, soaring at high speeds. He hit his bedroom wall.

"Fuck..." Kurt swore as he slid down the wallpaper.

"Machop!"

"Chuckles, I know you're trying to help," Kurt grumbled, seething. "But karate chopping my bed to get me out is _not_ the way to do it."

"You're nearly fifteen minutes late though, Kurt," a voice said from the doorway. Kurt looked up warily to see the smiling face of his father. "Kurt Hummel is going to be _tardy_ on the first day of his Pokémon journey?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, glancing towards the clock. He gasped, a hand flying to his chest. "Six _thirty?_ How am I going to do my whole routine in only _half an hour_?"

"You're not going to have time to moisturize on the road, son. Just hard dirt and plenty of sweat," lectured Burt, and Kurt rolled his eyes. He'd _make_ time.

Kurt leapt from the floor, narrowly missing the family Machop and darting past his father. Burt sighed and looked down at Machop.

"He'll be fine, won't he, Chuckles?" Machop shrugged, and Burt glanced back at his son, already in the bathroom with the door locked. "He'll be fine."


	2. I Choose You!

The laboratory was a large building towering over the little town of Lima was certainly distinct from its neighbors; with its gleaming and glossy walls contrasting heavily with homely houses and grassy plains. Just looking at it, taking in its imposing appearance evoked a sense of hope, a notion that things were different outside this little hick town.

Well, at least that's how it felt to Kurt Hummel.

Kurt had known since he was five that he wanted to go places and do things and meet people. Lima was too small a stage for him, and he had waited for this day his entire life; the day when he would be able to get out of this small town and be someone... specifically, a Pokémon Master.

As Kurt gazed up at the looming building, shimmering in the sunlight, he thought vaguely that he remembered it being smaller. Which is strange, considering how things usually seem to shrink as you grow up.

Kurt took a deep breath and smiled. This was it. The day that would change everything.

And just as he took the step, the first step beginning the rest of his life, and reached out for the handle of the door, he fell backwards, knocked to the ground abruptly by an oncoming storm.

Or what might as well have been a storm.

Looming above him, much like the laboratory itself, was David Karofsky.

Karofsky's face twisted into a grimace. It was obviously supposed to be some sort of smug smirk, but the expression only conveyed disgust.

"Sorry there, Fancy," he simpered, pushing Kurt's foot from the front of the door and sauntering inside. "You snooze, you lose."

Kurt inhaled shakily. His exhalation didn't remove any stress. He rolled his shoulder experimentally, and winced. That would bruise. His dad would go completely nuts, but that wouldn't do. His heart just couldn't handle it. That was part of the reason Kurt was leaving.

He pulled himself up by the door's handle, brushing the debris from his coat and straightening its lapels. His dad had raised an incredulous eyebrow at his get-up, but it was so _Kurt_ that he didn't say a thing. After all, Kurt couldn't bring his wardrobe with him (something Kurt had lamented since the age of five), and had fought incessantly with his father over the number of bags Kurt would bring. His father had haggled it down to one large hiking backpack. Kurt was glad his stepbrother made him do crunches for the last three months. He wouldn't be able to stand upright otherwise with the weight of that thing.

He hastily yanked the heavy door open, rushing inside to see Karofsky leaving Professor Schuester's office. Karofsky shouldered Kurt roughly and kept down the hall. Kurt rolled his eyes at the vicious gesture and continued into the room that contained his future Pokémon.

Professor Schue's eyes lit up when Kurt entered the room, head high and chin higher.

"Thank goodness! You're not normally one for lateness, Mr. Hummel," Schue teased. "Let's get to it, shall we?"

Kurt smiled, attempting to shake the thought of Karofsky from his shoulders. "Let's," he agreed.

"Well, I assume you know a lot about Pokémon from school," Professor Schue began, "But what they didn't teach you was how to use them, as companions or how to use them to your advantage, if you so choose. I know you're a bright kid Kurt, and you'll pick most of it up along the way but there's only one thing that I really think is crucial to your success as a Pokémon trainer."

Kurt furrowed his brow, tracing the lines of the table that held the two remaining shiny new Pokéballs. "What's that, Professor?"

Schue leaned in a little, as if afraid of spilling a secret. "Now don't tell anyone Kurt, but I have a lot of faith in you. If anyone can make it out of this tiny town it's you. Even more than someone like Karofsky, who is physically capble-" he nodded when Kurt lifted an incredulous eyebrow. "And it's because of this. Pokémon have the capability and capacity to influence people and even the world, there's no doubt about that, but for better or for worse depends on the trainer. Pokémon mold to the aspirations of their trainers, and it is up to the trainer and only to the trainer to use their Pokémon for good or bad, whether their motives are to have a lifetime companion or to rule the world."

Kurt raised his eyebrows completely at this, and Schue flailed slightly.

"Not that I have such goals," he clarified, laughing nervously. "I'm just here to guide young minds along their journey. And I honestly believe that you, Kurt, will be one young mind I will have been most honored to guide."

Kurt blushed profusely, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Thanks Professor Schue."

"Enough talk," the professor waved the air. "Since Karofsky got a little bit of an unfair start, I think I'll present you with a little head start of your own." He smiled before turning to a cupboard and reaching in, producing from it a third Poké Ball.

Kurt took the apple-sized ball from Schue, holding it carefully in his cupped hands. He took a deep breath and held it in front of him, feeling the Poké Ball's energy course through fingers.

The clasp of the ball popped open, and a bolt of white energy flashed. Before his very eyes, a small furry creature, hardly taller than a foot, materialized. Its caramel fur rippled as it shivered in its new, air-conditioned surroundings. Its charcoal eyes opened and peered up at Kurt, and the two gazed at each other for the first time.

"Eevee!" it chirped, and Kurt melted. He sank to his knees in front of the Pokémon, dropping its ball and brushing its head gently with the pad of his thumb. The Eevee hesitantly bent into his touch, slowing rubbing its head against Kurt's hand. Kurt had to breathe heavily into his diaphragm to keep himself from hyperventilating.

An Eevee.

And it was _all his_.

Schue cleared his throat, and Kurt jumped. He scooped Eevee into his arms and stood swiftly, banishing the blush from his cheeks.

"That's not all," Schue said. "Here is your Pokédex. It will record any Pokémon you happen to meet, and help you keep ahold of your Pokémon's movesets."

"Thank you," Kurt replied, taking the red gadget from his mentor. "Really, it's just..."

"You don't need to thank me, Kurt," Schue responded, cutting Kurt off. "I can tell that you're bound for greatness. That Eevee has already taken a liking to you."

Kurt glanced down at the Pokémon that he had in his arm, and it smiled at him.

"Is it..."

"It's a girl," Schue replied, already having anticipated the question.

"She's just perfect," Kurt said, in awe, and the Eevee squealed and butted her head against Kurt's neck. He held the Poké Ball gently in front of her and pressed on the cap, returning Eevee back inside. He just stared at the Poké Ball for a moment before looking up to see Professor Schue smiling fondly.

"You're going to do so well. Now, off with you! You've wasted enough time already!"

Kurt nodded his assent.

He stepped out of the lab with a new spring in his step, Eevee still clutched to his chest. Upon feeling the warm fall air, she sprung from his arms, landing on the grass, and began sniffing the ground enthusiastically. He chuckled and admired her for a bit, fur gleaming in the sun, before deciding to let her meander around for a bit while he did a little double-check on his inventory. God knows how long she was in that Poké Ball for.

Kurt schlepped his backpack to the floor and opened up the corresponding pockets. Poké Balls? Check. Potions? Check. Running shoes from Dad? Check. Horrendously cut down designer wardrobe? Check.

Well, looked like he was all good to go.

"Come on Eevee," he said brightly She had wondered off to paw at some flower bushes by the lab and upon hearing his voice she sprang up, ears alert, before making a squeal of a noise and bounding over to him to leap into his arms.

"Ready for an adventure?" he asked her, propping her up in one arm and throwing his backpack over his shoulder with the other. She nuzzled closer to him in response, big black eyes glittering up at him.

"Eevee," she cooed adoringly.

Seeing this as good a sign as any other, he took a deep breath, smoothed his bangs with a thumb, and set off down the path that led to the city limits and the first route.

But he hadn't been walking for ten seconds before he heard a voice call his name.

"Kurt! Kurt, wait!"

Kurt rolled his eyes and turned around to face the oncoming blubbering mess that was Finn. Of course his oaf of a stepbrother would be the one to deny his journey.

Finn finally caught up to Kurt, who wrinkled his brow at the load his brother was carrying in his arms.

"I can't believe you still insist on carrying that thing everywhere you go," he stuck his nose up at the Dunsparce cradled in Finn's arms. Its purple kazoo in its... mouth?... made a continuous buzzing.

Finn frowned. "I can't believe you planned on leaving without saying goodbye," he countered.

"I _did_ say goodbye," Kurt insisted. "You were busy feeding Dunce there out back."

Finn held his Pokémon back defensively. "Drizzle resents that nickname."

Drizzle buzzed vaguely at the sound of his name.

"I'll miss you," Finn said softly, irritation dissipating. "And so will Drizzle."

Drizzle, once again, buzzed appreciatively.

"I'll miss you too," Kurt said, allowing a smile to grace his face as he dropped Eevee gently to hug his stepbrother. "Both you and Dunce."

"_Bzzzzz_," said Drizzle.

"Is that your Pokémon?" Finn asked, wiggling the foot Eevee had been inspecting. Kurt nodded.

"Awesome!" Finn proceeded to plop right down on the grass and scratch behind Eevee's ears.

Kurt observed his brother fondly. Finn was a year older that he was, so he had started his journey the year pervious. However, he hadn't even gone halfway to the League before giving up and coming home, insisting that he had found his true passion. Personally, Kurt suspected that that reason Finn stopped his journey short was that he wasn't exactly qualified in the brains department, instead of the excuse Finn had offered up about wanting to... "sing" with his Pokémon, but he had never exactly voiced his opinion to anyone.

"Well, we'd better get going," Kurt finally said, scooping Eevee up and thus interrupting a very serious conversation consisting of buzzes and squeaks. "Good luck with your... Pokémon band or whatever."

"Hudson Four," Finn pouted. "We're called the Hudson Four."

"Right," Kurt dismissed him.

"Oh, I almost forgot the reason why I ran after you," Finn said, rummaging through the pockets of his puffy vest and procuring a folded piece of cardstock.

"What's this?" Kurt examined it.

"Town Map," Finn explained. "So you don't get lost. Mom forgot to give it to you."

"Thanks Finn," Kurt smiled.

"No problem, bro." Finn offered out a fist. Kurt awkwardly pumped it. Finn smiled, but it fell from his face just as quickly as it came.

"I'm gonna miss you so hard," Finn deadpanned, and Kurt had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at his only sibling. "Get going. Don't half-ass it like I did."

"I would never," Kurt said, just as seriously. Finn nodded, face grave, and he ruffled Kurt's hair. Kurt was so indignant that he didn't respond to the ruffle, choosing instead to whip around and begin walking through the city limit. He heard Finn's raucous laughter behind him and he couldn't help but smile.

He hadn't been walking for longer than five minutes when he heard footfalls behind him. Expecting Finn, he turned around, a wicked grin on his face, but it slid off almost immediately.

Karofsky gave him a filthy grin. "Well, well, well. What runt did the Prof saddle with _you_?" he sneered, and Kurt suppressed his eye-rolling in favor of self-preservation.

"It's none of your business, you neanderthal," Kurt spat, beginning to turn around. A massive hand seized his shoulder and whirled him back.

"Actually, it is. I challenge you to your first loss," Karofsky said, and he chuckled lowly. "I'm sorry. Your first ..._battle._" The last word was in a dark falsetto, obviously an imitation of Kurt's own voice. Karofsky had lifted his hand and limp-wristed.

Kurt gritted his teeth and popped Eevee from the holster.

"You're on," Kurt growled. Karofsky's grin faltered slightly, but he straightened and backed up.

Karofsky grasped his own Poké Ball, throwing it high into the air and letting the white energy flow onto the unpaved road.

Out of the bolt of raw white energy, a Bulbasaur burst into battle, its limbs already tensed to attack. After only a few moments in Karofsky's presence, Kurt noticed that the Pokémon was already taking on its owner's characteristics: the seed Pokémon's eyes had a severity to them that Kurt hadn't ever seen, even in a wild Pokémon. It bent low to the ground, and heavy-set, like a tank.

Kurt clenched his fist determinedly, and threw his Pokéball so it bounced upon the ground. Eevee flew from the storage unit, looking determined.

Karofsky let out a loud snort, his whole body falling backwards. Kurt's eye twitched in annoyance.

"This is _bullshit_. I thought I'd get at least a _little_ experience from this. Ah well," Karofsky muttered, brushing invisible dust from his jean leg. He straightened and pointed towards Eevee. "Bulbasaur! Tackle attack!"

The Bulbasaur launched forwards, and the command flew from Kurt's mouth instinctively.

"Dodge it!"

Eevee flew out of Bulbasaur's path, landing safely on its padded paws about two meters away. Kurt was shellshocked, and from the look of it, so was Karofsky; he hadn't realized the Pokémon's speed.

But this could work. He knew Eevee's basic moveset. He'd only studied it a thousand times.

"Tackle it again!" Karofsky shouted angrily. Bulbasaur propelled forward rapidly once more.

The words ripped from his mouth. "Dodge it, Eevee. Tail whip!"

Immediately, Eevee flew over the Bulbasaur's head, bashing Bulbasaur's tail end with a flick of her tail, driving it to the ground. The Pokémon, still reeling from the hit, unsteadily stood once more.

"What the _fuck_?" Karofsky swore loudly. "Bulbasaur, focus, alright? Tackle it again! It can't dodge us again, watch it!"

"Eevee, jump!" Kurt commanded. Each command that flowed from his lips didn't have a well-though plan behind it. It was pure instinct, and he rode on it. "Left side."

Eevee skidded as she landed beside Bulbasaur, who was now looking extremely disoriented. An opening.

"Tackle attack!"

Eevee threw herself forward, bashing her body against Bulbasaur's, sending it across the dirt. Kurt felt giddy.

"Once more, Eevee -"

"No!"

Surprised, Kurt looked up at Karofsky, who had shielded Bulbasaur with his own body. "We're done here. This was a bullshit match. You're just dancing around," Karofsky muttered. He pulled out his Pokéball and returned his Pokémon. He glared at Kurt as he straightened his spine into a ramrod. He turned and made his way down one of the paths on the road's fork.

"Do I win?" Kurt asked, confused, after Karofsky.

"Fuck you!" came a distant reply. Kurt laughed in disbelief.

"You couldn't afford it!"

He slumped to the ground, and Eevee jumped into his lap. Her fur was matted with dust from the battlefield, and Kurt took out a moist towelette to clean her off.

"That was incredible," Kurt said quietly to his Pokémon, who nuzzled his chest gently. "We're a great team."

Eevee made a soft chirp in response, and Kurt gathered her in his arms.

"Well, we should -"

"Wait!"

Kurt groaned aloud. How long was it going to take him to actually _begin _his journey? He hesitantly turned around.

Rachel. Motherfucking. Berry.

He squinted at her in disbelief. "What are you doing here, Berry?" he asked, irritated.

"That was some battle," she chirruped brightly, and Kurt winced. "You're got talent, Kurt."

"Thank you," Kurt responded automatically. "Don't spy on me. It's creepy. It's weird."

"I wasn't."

"Berry..."

"Your Pokémon is _really_ cute," she suddenly fawned, leaning forward to gaze at Eevee. The young Pokémon shied from her, burying closer into her trainer's arms. Kurt was growing more and more impatient with the girl.

"Berry, what do you _want? _Are you saying goodbye to me?" Kurt asked her, exasperated. The tiny brunette bit her lip, and shook her head.

"No, that's not it."

"Then what _is_ it?"

"Let me come with you!" she pleaded, clasped her hands together. "I -"

"No," Kurt interrupted, instinct kicking in once more. He pivoted on his heel and began walking down the dark dirt road again, towards the dense wood.

Her dainty footsteps followed him. "Kurt, _please. _I can't travel alone!"

"And why not?"

"I'm... not built for ruggedness!"

"Then go star in a Pokémon Musical. Go enter a Contest."

He heard her stamp her foot in indignation. "_God,_ Kurt, I thought you'd get it!" He turned to look at her, surprised. Her shoulders were shaking with emotion. "I want to be _able_ to... be on my own! To... reach that distant goal, climb every mountain, all that jazz! I know I _could_ do it. But I _need_ you, Kurt! I thought you would _get_ it." She scrunched up her face, and turned up her nose. "But you can't. You're just like everyone else. _Go enter Contests, go apprentice for Nurse Terri_..." She shook her head. "Well, you know, maybe I will go on my own."

She brushed past him, her arms folded. She turned swiftly around, startling Kurt. "And just for the record, I _can't_ star in a Pokémon Musical. Only _Pokémon_ can!" she shrieked.

"Did you check that?" Kurt asked incredulously, shifting the Pokémon still riding in his arms. She scowled at him, but Kurt could see the tears in her eyes. "Oh, God, Berry..."

"No!" she shouted, and she turned around once more, just as quickly, marching down the path faster than before. "I can do it alone!"

"You obviously can't, if you're throwing such a diva fit," Kurt said seriously. She stopped mid-stride. She stood for a moment before returning to Kurt's side, head downwards. Kurt sighed. "Berry, we'll do this on a trial basis." He couldn't believe the words he was saying. She looked up at him, her eyes shining with glistening, dramatic tears, her mouth agape. He held up a finger, and grasped at Eevee with his right arm. "A _trial basis,_ Berry, we'll see how it goes! You can't just... stomp off if you don't get your way anymore." He fished out Eevee's Poké Ball and returned her quickly. He looked at Rachel, scrutinizing her. "Capiche?"

"You actually said 'capiche,'" Rachel replied dazedly, apparently too shocked to believe her luck. Kurt couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Yeah, yes. Yes. It's clear with me."

"And your stuff? Do you have everything that you need for this?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, twisting to show him her heavy-duty backpack. A sleep roll was fastened on top of it was a durable clasp. "Why did you _think_ I had this?"

"We all start our journeys today," Kurt explained. "Whatever. Maybe it will be nice having someone to talk to who can respond. Did you get your Pokémon?"

Rachel grinned widely. "Prepare yourself," she said lowly. She extracted her Poké Ball and quickly released her Pokémon.

After the energy dissipated, there was a bright yellow mouse with rosy cheeks in its stead. Kurt's eyebrows rose.

"A Pikachu."

"Isn't he just _darling_?" Rachel sang happily. "I love him already."

The Pikachu's cheeks crackled with incensed electricity at this, and Rachel smiled nervously. She bent down and rubbed her peeved Pokémon's head gently. "We'll get there."

Thankfully the Pokémon didn't shock her. He begrudgingly allowed her to pet him before she returned him to the Poké Ball. She sighed.

"Why couldn't I have gotten an Eevee? Yours seems so easy!" she complained. Kurt held in his anger by biting his inner cheek.

"Berry, another comment like that and I'm sending you packing," he quipped. She swallowed heavily before nodding. He pulled his map from the side pocket of his backpack and unfolded it. "We're headed to Westerville first. It's about... seventeen, eighteen miles tops."

"Through the woods?" Rachel inquired interestedly, peering over Kurt's shoulder, having to stand on her toes.

"Yeah." Kurt folded the map up once more. "It's pretty straightforward. Just stay on the path."

"Cool," Rachel said dreamily, fingering the strap of her backpack reverently.

"Rachel, have you ever even _had_ a Pokémon battle? Didn't you fail Movesets 101?" Kurt asked.

"You've only had _one,_ Kurt!" Rachel snipped. "And it was a C-, thank you very much."

"Do you have any medical supplies?"

Rachel swung her backpack to her hip, rustling through the pockets. She opened it wide enough for Kurt to see. Sure enough, inside was a small bottle of ibuprofen, four purple spray bottles, a Pokéblock case and a roll of gauze. Kurt raised an eyebrow and huffed, impressed. Rachel grinned.

"I'm nothing if not prepared," she declared.

Kurt nodded and watched her as she hurriedly zipped up her backpack and tossed it back upon her shoulders. They walked in silence, listening to the quiet songs of the Kricketunes in the trees. Rachel cleared her throat carefully.

"What are you planning to do on your journey?" she asked Kurt, who smiled in spite of himself.

"I'm going to beat every gym in the Eastern region," he replied, his grin infectious. "Then I'll take the Pokémon League. And the Western region. Southern. Overseas..." He inhaled shakily, taken by the vividness of it. "I'm going to be a legend."

Rachel nodded fervently, her hands clasped behind her. "If anyone can do it, it's you," she said quietly, looking at her boots. "Your drive is astounding." Kurt felt a sudden swelling of affection for the short brunette. It was quiet between them for a beat. "I'm going to be a Gym Leader someday."

"What sort of specialty?"

"Well, I haven't had any experience. So that's what I'll find out, I guess. And I'll be strong. I'll be that one unbeatable Gym."

"We're each others' competition then," Kurt teased, nudging her side. She giggled, covering her mouth with a polite hand, but her eyes widened when she glanced towards the road.

"Do we have to go through _that_?" Rachel asked fearfully. Kurt followed her line of vision.

Foot-high grass sprouted from the ground, disheveled and chaotic. Trees loomed ominously overhead, creating a green dome. There was a telltale rustling in some of the denser patches.

"Let's shoulder on," Kurt said, feeling invigorated. He sunk his feet into the tall grass, carefully wading through it. Rachel launched forward and grabbed his arm fiercely, looking around them frantically.

"Oh, Kurt, I can't deal with bug Pokémon," Rachel moaned nervously. Kurt hummed to soothe her.

"Don't worry too much, Berry," he said, and she nodded.

Together they pushed through the foliage, watching their surroundings with alertness. Kurt glanced upwards, watching the sunlight peek through the thick deciduous canopy.

Every so often they would reach a fallen tree, and Kurt would swing himself over it, and then help Rachel. Eventually she was able to grip the log's crevices and scale the dead wood, but she always seemed to end up on the ground, irritated at her misfortunate falls. Kurt had to pinch himself to keep from laughing. But each time, he helped her up.

"I think there's a clearing up ahead," Rachel commented lightly, her grip tight on his arm like a vise. "You see how the trees thin out?" She fished out her Poké Gear from her pocket with her other hand. "It's about three. We could stop soon for lunch."

"That sounds perfect," Kurt affirmed hungrily, rolling his other shoulder, and they continued their trudging.

They reached the clearing, and they were abruptly bathed in pleasant sunshine.

Kurt set down his pack and pulled out a blanket with a blue gingham check pattern. Rachel began extracting lunch from her bag: a white Thermos, two sandwiches, and napkins. At Kurt's questioning look, she shrugged with a blush high on her cheeks.

"I sort of... assumed you'd let me come with you," she admitted, and Kurt's eyebrows rose but he didn't say anything.

"I have Pokémon food," he offered, holding up the bag of pellets. Rachel nodded, suddenly tense, and she pulled out her Poké Ball from the holster.

"Come on out, Pikachu," she said tentatively, allowing the Poké Ball to glow. Before them, the little yellow creature materialized. Pkkachu seemed irritated to have to leave the safety of the Poké Ball but immediately brightened at the sight of Kurt's Pokémon food. Kurt smiled and dished out some pellets for him before releasing Eevee and handing her some as well.

The Pokémon chirped in thanks and started to eat as Kurt and Rachel served their human food onto the tin plates Kurt had produced from his bag.

Lunch passed in mostly silence, at least on Kurt's end. Rachel, however, took to incessantly blabbering about nonsensical things, Pokémon musicals and contests and her two dads and Kurt considered telling her off for it but found that after a while he could easily tune it out in favor of trying to decipher the conversation between Eevee and Pikachu.

"E...Eevee?"

"Pi-KA-chu."

"Eeeeevui!"

"Pika pika..."

"KURT."

"Wha-?" Kurt snapped his head up to address Rachel.

"Are you done?" she asked, frowning indignantly. She was obviously not pleased that he had tuned out her entire tirade.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat sheepishly. "Let's get going."

As Kurt began to repack his sandwich, a black blur darted past him. He blinked, and looked towards his empty hands.

Rachel pointed towards the tree. "A bird!"

"That Starly stole my sandwich!" Kurt snarled, glaring at the starling Pokémon. The Starly looked up, twitched briefly and tilted its head, then pecked at the sandwich. Kurt ground his teeth. He looked to Eevee.

"Come on. This isn't over. Eevee, Sand-Attack!"

Eevee flew across the dirt, pushing a cloud of dust upwards. The Starly burst into action, propelling into the air. It brought a wing back, slashing the air and blasting Eevee backwards. Eevee tumbled over the dirt, smashing into a stump.

"Eevee!" Kurt exclaimed. Eevee struggled, but was able to stand. Incensed, Kurt pointed towards the Starly. "Eevee, get ready."

The bird Pokémon shot towards Eevee. "Dodge it!" Kurt shouted. Eevee jumped out of the way, and Starly collided with the ground, but quickly recovered. "Tackle attack!"

The impact between Eevee and Starly was startling, and Starly was driven to the ground.

Kurt unhooked a Poké Ball from his belt, and it expanded in his hand. He would his arm backwards and threw the ball at the bird.

The ball collided with the Starly and it disappeared in a flash of white energy. THe ball wriggled once, twice, and violently a third time before settling into stillness.

Kurt smiled smugly and strode smoothly over to the Poké Ball, picking it up and hooking it on his belt. He turned around to smirk at Rachel, whose mouth was agape. Pikachu was clapping enthusiastically. Kurt took a bow, laughing, and scooped Eevee up into his arms to nuzzle her nose.

"Great job, Vee-Vee," he baby-talked, and she sighed happily, eyes drooping. Kurt turned back to Rachel. "Let's pick up the pace. Eevee needs to rest at a Pokémon Center soon."

"I - yes, alright," Rachel stammered, still in awe of the battle.

Kurt smiled and commanded Eevee back into the Poké Ball before linking arms with Rachel. She loosened up immediately and began talking at once.

"Kurt, that was so cool! I knew you were going to be great. Hey, did I ever tell you about that one time that I saw my dads battle each other with their Pokémon?"

Kurt rolled his eyes indulgently as they set off to complete their trek through the woods.

They made their way through the undergrowth with relatively few problems. They pushed back overhanging vines, traipsed over tangled roots and dodged low-flying bird Pokémon until they could see the outlines of a city in a clearing in the trees ahead of them.

"There!" Rachel pointed enthusiastically as Kurt helped her up from tripping over yet another root. She scrambled up and ran forth, not even bothering to look where she was going, and she plunged into an inevitable stretch of tall grass.

"Rachel, be careful -!"

But as soon as he had called out the half-hearted warning, Rachel gave out a cry and Kurt saw her fall backwards.

"Rachel?" Kurt cried, rushing forward to plow through the grass.

"Kurt..." Rachel was whimpering, eyes frozen on a spot in front of her. "What _is_ that?"

Kurt gasped as he finally came to stand next to Rachel, pulling out his Pokédex.

"Nidoran , the Poison Pin Pokémon," the red machine recited, spewing out facts about the little blue animal in front of them.

"WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoI_do_?" Rachel whispered.

Kurt gave her a look, then shrugged, observing the way Nidoran was staring intently at Rachel. "Battle it, I guess, and catch it if you would like."

Rachel gazed up at him, eyes wide and shocked.

"Catch it..." she repeated breathlessly. "I don't know, Kurt..."

But Pikachu had already leaped from its Poké Ball. It looked towards Rachel. She had lifted a hand to her mouth in shock but she clenched it into a fist.

"Pikachu... use..." Rachel fumbled for a moment. "Quick attack!"

Pikachu shifted into action, darting from side to side. The Nidoran bent low, its spikes shifting in defense.

Pikachu swerved just in time, neatly avoiding the spikes, and looked to Rachel for direction.

"T-try again?" Rachel stuttered, and Pikachu hesitated before attempting to attack from a different angle, once again blocked by spikes.

"You have to be confident," Kurt instructed, standing back a bit. "If you're more confident Pikachu will be, and will be able to move fast enough to outstep Nidoran."

"Okay" Rachel took a shaky breath. "Try a tackle," she instructed Pikachu, just a bit louder. He moved to obey but Nidoran was faster, headbutting Pikachu in a Quick Attack of its own. Pikachu rolled over to ease back onto his feet.

"More," Kurt urged. "You're so outspoken in every other aspect," he quipped dryly, "So try to transfer that over."

Rachel adjusted her footing, clenched and unclenched her fists, and closed her eyes briefly before commanding almost complete authority.

"Keep Quick Attacking Pikachu," she instructed. "Go for the weak spots."

Pikachu's reaction was noticably faster; he got an attack in before Nidoran could curl into itself and managed to find a spot that was vulnerable, attacking Nidoran spot on to send it skidding across the ground.

"What now?" Rachel panicked.

"Poké Ball!" Kurt yelled irritatedly.

"Right!" Rachel yelled back, hand flying to her bag. She unlatched a red and white ball and sent it flying towards Nidoran, who was trying and failing to get on her feet.

It shook weakly before stilling.

Kurt didn't know if he or Rachel was in more shock.

Pikachu finally got fed up and retrieved the Poké Ball with what Kurt could have sworn was a roll of his eyes and waddled on two feet over to Rachel to drop it at her shoes.

Rachel snapped out of her haze and flipped her hair haughtily.

"Yes, thank you Pikachu," she said with a star-studded smile, daintily picking up the ball and latching it into her belt.

Kurt clapped sarcastically. "Yes, yes, job well done," he snapped, beginning to wade carefully through the last of the grass and into the sunlight. "Now let's please get a move on? I can see the Westerville Pokémon center from here."

Rachel leaned down to return Pikachu to his Poké Ball quickly, holding it tightly in her palm. The ball shrunk quickly and she fastened it to her belt.

Kurt and Rachel slid down the final stretch, a dirt hill, with Rachel falling on her butt at least once. Kurt kept glancing back at his female companion, who kept checking her belt, almost automatically. It was reflexive, but he understood it; she was in complete awe that she had these two Pokémon to look up to her. Who respected her (to a certain extent). He would have done the same thing if he didn't have his extraordinary sense of dignity and pride.

"Are you going to challenge the Gym in Westerville?" asked Rachel as they walked towards the Pokémon Center.

"Within the next few days. It's getting late," Kurt commented, looking towards the sun. It was already beginning to set. "Do you think we could sleep in the Center?"

"Oh, I'm sure we could," she replied fervently. They stepped towards the Center, a large, bricked affair with enormous oak doors. "Isn't it interesting how the Centers look different between the towns?"

"It's practically a castle," Kurt said wondrously. "Is that necessary, you think? Something sleek and modern would be just fine. Probably more economical, too."

"Such a stick in the mud!"

"No, I like it, I'm just thinking in practical terms."

"Whatever you say, Kurt." Rachel breezed past him, pulling open the doors and stepping inside.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center," said a lithe woman with a scandalously short pink and white candy-striper outfit and wavy sandy hair and a slightly manic smile. "I'm Nurse Terry. How may I be of assistance?"

"Our Pokémon are kind of tired from the trek through the woods," Kurt explained. "And so are we. Would it be alright if we stayed the night?"

"Of course, sweetie," Terry said in a sugary voice. "Right this way."

She led them through the lobby of the center and to an elevator at the back of the room. The doors slid open at the touch of a button and they piled inside.

"So where are you kids from?" Terry asked politely.

"Lima," Rachel said proudly. Kurt noticed that Terry's plastered on smile tightened obviously.

"Oh," she said mechanically.

"Not a fan?" Kurt asked, grinning as the elevator doors opened and they stepped outside.

"No, it's not that," Terry retained her robotically sweet tone, leading them down a carpeted hall lined with numbered oak doors. "It's just that my ex-husband lives there."

Rachel and Kurt exchanged looks.

"You might know him," Terry said casually, stopping at a door and swiping a card through it. "His name is Will. Or I suppose you two would know him as Professer Schuester."

Rachel began to giggle but Kurt elbowed her harshly. "Yes, he gave us our Pokémon."

"Charming," Terry beamed falsely, leading them into the room.

It was small, but warm and authentic. The carpet fluffed out beneath their feet and a plush bed was nestled in the corner beside a small wooden desk under a window overlooking the town of Westerville, now glittering with lights in the night. In the opposite corner was a machine contrasting deeply with the comfy attire of the room.

"If you place your Pokéballs on the machine there they'll get all the rest you need. I'm assuming you two want seperate rooms," the nurse waggled a finger at them with a wink and Kurt nearly gagged. "So this room and the one next to it are connected by a bathroom. Here's the key," she said, handing them the card she had swiped, "And have a nice stay."

"How much will the fare be?" Rachel queried.

"Oh, don't worry about it honey," Terry began her way out the door. "All new Pokémon Trainers stay here for free. Lord knows we have enough room!" she gestured vaguely at the spaciousness of the building before twiddling her fingers and shutting the door.

Kurt and Rachel looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Interesting woman," Kurt observed.

"Quite," Rachel agreed.

The bed creaked angrily when Kurt flopped down upon it. He stared at the ceiling, counting the wooden beams.

He already had two Pokémon on his belt. It worried him a bit that they only knew 'Normal' moves, but he was going to train them. And Eevee had so many possibilities...

He turned over on his side, his arm folded so he was laying on his forearm. A brightly colored poster in an intricate golden frame featuring April Rhodes hung on the wall. She was dressed in an outlandish cowgirl costume, holding a lasso and winking at the camera. Her Dodrio partner didn't look too happy to be there, especially since each head's feathers was braided and tied with ribbon. A flurry of sparkles surrounded the eccentric Elite Four member.

Kurt sighed. April was on a level all her own. He was going to have to work so hard to reach it.

He flipped back, laying flat. He pulled the Pokémon guidebook that he knew was kept in the end table beneath the lamp.

He flipped to the Gym section.

Westerville's Dalton Gym was a Fire Gym. He didn't have a Water type, or a Ground type, or a Rock type. His Eevee was hardy, and his Starly seemed plenty spunky but would it be enough?

Should he wait for a Water type before even thinking of facing the Gym?

He shook his head, trying to calm himself.

The Gym was tough. There were a series of trainers that he had to beat before he could even reach the leader. He hadn't heard of such a setup before, but apparently it was common in the Eastern region. Figures. He'd only studied Johto and Sinnoh with any real focus.

He took in a deep breath, scanning the type effectiveness chart one more time before flicking off the Chinchou-themed lamp.


	3. The Hottest Thing Alive

Sleep came surprisingly easy and morning came surprisingly fast.

Kurt was pleased to wake up to the sun beaming on his face. At first he had to reorient himself, sitting bolt upright to take in his surroundings. But upon seeing the plush carpet and the poster of April Rhodes and his backpack in the corner it quickly came back to him. Pokémon adventure. Eevee. Starly. Westerville. Rachel.

Ugh. Rachel.

Kurt groaned a little and sank back into bed. Just a few more minutes may not be so bad...

But that plan was immediately put on the back burner as half a dozen sharp raps came on the door leading to the bathroom.

Fucking Rachel.

Kurt groaned a little and sank back into bed. Just a few more minutes couldn't hurt…

But that plan was immediately put on the back burner as half a dozen sharp raps came on the door leading to the bathroom.

Fucking Rachel.

"What do you want?" Kurt groaned.

"Up and at 'em!" Rachel burst into the room, holding a tray full of eggs and bacon and toast. "Early bird gets the worm!"

"I'm not interested in catching any Caterpie today," Kurt sniffed indignantly, rousing himself begrudgingly at the scent of food. "What's that?" he pointed at the tray.

"Nurse Terri brought it for us," Rachel explained as she sat at the foot of the bed, and Kurt was aghast to see that she was already awake and ready, tacky clothes on and all. Pikachu was crawling in from the other room, obviously still as disoriented as Kurt.

"Not a morning person either, eh?" he asked the little yellow mouse, who made something of a groan and hopped up to Kurt's bed, snuggling under the covers.

Kurt stretched and eased out of bed, padding over to the machine where his two Pokéballs were thrumming. He released Eevee and Starly, who materialized before him.

Eevee nudged him affectionately before bounding over to the tray of food, sitting obediently before it, and Starlylooked up at Kurt with wonder.

"Hey buddy," Kurt smiled, kneeling to pat his head affectionately. "Nice to meet you"

Starly looked hesitant, but nipped Kurt's finger appreciatively and hopped onto Kurt's arm so he could lead the little bird over to the bed.

Rachel was already dishing out food to respective Pokémon when Kurt started serving himself.

"So," she began brightly. "What are your plans for the day?"

The knife on Kurt's plate slid terribly against the chinaware, making a screeching noise. A shiver ran up Eevee'sback and Pikachu grasped at his own ears. He shook his head quickly. "Sorry," he apologized. He looked back at Rachel, who looked unnerved. He shrugged an unsure shoulder. "I'm going to check out the Gym. I don't know if I'm challenging it today though. Probably not. I don't think Eevee or Starly are ready for a huge barrage of battles."

"What do you mean, a huge barrage of battles?"

Kurt explained the setup of the Dalton Gym to Rachel and she nodded thoughtfully. "That's really interesting. I wonder how they thought of that. Weaken the trainer before they even reach their destination," she mused, tapping her chin. "I'm going to do something similar in my Gym."

"Your theoretical Gym," Kurt corrected, prompting a snort from the otherwise-occupied electric mouse. Rachel glared at Kurt, but she didn't say anything, choosing to violently butter a slice of toast instead.

"You're all laughing now," Rachel said lowly. "But one day you will be begging to work beneath me."

"Not if I'm the world's greatest Pokémon trainer," Kurt pointed out, emphasizing the point with a twirl of his fork. She cracked a small smile at that.

"I guess you're right."

"Do you have anything to do?" Kurt asked her, trying to shift the focus away from himself and his turmoil about his Pokémon's readiness.

Rachel looked away self-consciously. "Well, I heard that Westerville has a nice theater. That houses Pokémon Musicals. And… my favorite one is playing today…" she trailed off, blushing.

Kurt laughed, nearly poking Starly with his brandished fork. "Sorry," he said quickly, before turning back to Rachel. "That's fine. What time is it?"

"In about an hour," Rachel replied. "Would you… would you like to join me?" she asked hopefully.

Kurt couldn't help his nose from wrinkling. As much as he liked singing, he couldn't help but feel like Pokémon Musicals were slightly pretentious. "I think I'll pass," he said gently, adding quickly when Rachel's face fell, "Just because I think I should train today. While you're gone I can get some alone time with my Pokémon, train them around the borders of town and maybe I'll try at the gym tonight."

"Good plan," Rachel agreed, finishing up her plate and handing her leftovers to Nidoran. "Get a feel of how it's run. You can always try again tomorrow."

"Right," Kurt said, stuffing the last of the egg into his mouth. "And I think you should challenge the gym too, Rachel. See what being a gym leader is really all about. I'm sure the gym leader would be more than happy to give you some tips."

"Yeah," Rachel said bashfully. "Maybe I'll try it out."

They bid farewell to each other in front of the Pokémon Center and parted ways. Kurt let Eevee trot in front of him, while Starly perched himself on Kurt's head. It began whistling a high tune, waiting for Kurt to respond to it with a whistle of his own.

"You're a regular warbler, aren't you?" Kurt cooed to his flying Pokémon, and Starly whistled in response. "I think you need a name. Like a stage name to match your fabulousness."

Eevee nipped at Kurt's heels to make him go faster, and Kurt laughed. "Alright, Eevee, I'm going. Well, Starly, let's see. I think you need a classic, operatic name. Just… something legendary. After all, once we reach the League together, you're going to have to be remembered."

Starly left Kurt's head, soaring gracefully through the air, continuing to sing happily. Kurt smiled as Eevee jumped up, attempting to grab the Starly, but the bird Pokémon would always barely escape. "Gently, Eevee," Kurt chided, and Eevee made an apologetic noise.

An idea popped into his head, and Kurt snapped;

"Pavarotti. After Luciano, of course, rest his soul," Kurt declared. "You're Pavarotti now. I hope you're willing to answer to it."

Pavarotti buried himself into Kurt's hair playfully, making Kurt whine in annoyance.

"Alright, I'm going to put you guys in your Poké Balls to keep you safe until battle, alright?" Kurt said, calling them back in.

Once outside the city limits Kurt practically dove into the tall grass, searching far and wide for Pokémon itching to battle. Soon enough he stumbled upon a Zigzagoon, tripping over it in his haste to search every inch of the woods.

The creature shook its head in shock before catching sight of Kurt and arching back in a challenge. Incensed with excitement, Kurt threw a Poké Ball into the air.

"Eevee, let's go!"

The little dog hit the ground running as Kurt caught the empty ball. "Tackle!" he commanded.

The attack hit the Zigzagoon squarely, sending it reeling. It recovered quickly and dug up the grass, unearthing the fine ground beneath it in a Sand Attack. Eevee coughed and spluttered, vision completely obscured.

Kurt coughed himself, panicking slightly when he heard a thump and a small cry from Eevee signalling thatZigzagoon had staged an attack. "Pavarotti, help me out," he said, releasing the bird from his holster. "Fly above and see if you can tell Eevee where Zigzagoon is moving," he commanded, and Pavarotti nodded before taking off.

He swooped high above the thick sand, chirping instructions that Kurt couldn't understand but Eevee was responding to. Sure enough, Kurt began to hear more and more cries from the Zigzagoon than from Eevee as he commanded her blindly, ordering Quick Attacks and Tackles.

Finally, when the dust cleared, Kurt saw that Zigzagoon lay unconscious in the grass and Eevee stood, panting, looming over it.

"Oh," Kurt ran a hand over his bangs self-consciously and walking over to Eevee "I guess we got a little carried away," he said, inspecting the Zigzagoon as Pavarotti came to rest on Kurt's shoulder.

Gingerly, Kurt dragged the little creature to a nearby bush, picking a fruit from a neighboring Berry Tree and placing it beside Zigzagoon for when it woke up. He straightened and adjusted his coat accordingly, dusting it off.

"You guys alright to go on?" he asked his partners, and both Pokémon responded enthusiastically.

"Well for what it's worth," he said to them as he called them back to their Poké Balls, "I think we make a damn good team."

They trained all day, battling everything from Spinoraks to Raticates, stopping only for a quick lunch break and revival via Potions and Berries when they couldn't go on any longer.

Kurt sprawled on his back in a clearing in the woods after they had finished eating, breathing deeply.

"So tired," Kurt sighed, closing his eyes and feeling the grass beneath his fingers.

Pavarotti nestled in his hair and he made a disapproving noise but made no effort to move him.

But Eevee seemed to have other plans. She nudged at Kurt's face gently at first, but when he only hummed contentedly she took to prodding her wet nose in his ear, and finally nipping him sharply on the earlobe.

"OW," Kurt hollered, bolting up. "What was that for?" he pouted, but Eevee was dancing around him fervently, clacking her teeth together.

"What- oh," Kurt realized, "Have you learned a new move?"

Eevee jumped into his lap and licked all over his face.

Kurt leaned away, giggling, and opened up his Pokédex.

"Eevee, level eleven," it recited. "Moveset including Tackle, Quick Attack, Sand Attack, and Bite."

"Impressive," Kurt said, ruffling her fur. "Alright," he said, rising creakily to his feet. "Let's go try it out, shall we?"

They finally made their way back to the Pokémon Center around four in the afternoon. Kurt was positive they were ready for the gym now, maybe even overqualified for it. Sure he still hadn't found any water-type Pokémon in the woods, but he was confident in his own team's ability to at least try out the Dalton gym leader.

He found that Rachel was not in her room, but on the counter of the bathroom he found a note that read:

Kurt,

Gone to challenge the gym. Wish me luck! I think spontaneity suits me well. See you tonight for dinner.

Love,

Rachel.

Her signature was punctuated with a golden star sticker (how she managed to have those with her twenty-four/seven was incomprehensible). Kurt sighed, telling himself not to worry as he stepped into the shower. There was no way in hell Rachel was ready for the Dalton gym, or any gym for that matter. Well, at least she would be able to let him know what type of battle style the gym leader exercised.

After a late afternoon snack and a short nap, Kurt, Eevee, and Pavarotti were off to face the Dalton gym. Kurt walked across the old-fashioned town, through the paved streets and painted murals and ornate architecture. The prim and proper people passing by occasionally spared him a passing smile if not wrapped up in their own conversations, and Kurt thought that he might not mind spending a few more days here to visit all the museums and fancy street fairs that he passed by.

He strolled through a marketplace and stocked up on some medicine, just in case he would need them for the oncoming battle, and food for dinner tonight. Maybe if Nurse Terri was feeling generous she would let him use the kitchen to make his own dinner.

He finally reached the gym, looming over the end of the city in a style similar to the Pokémon center. He gazed at it, flags billowing in the wind for a good five minutes straight before gathering up the nerve to go in but before he could take a step he found the doors swinging open to reveal a tearful Rachel Berry.

"Oh Kurt," she collapsed into his arms and he held her gingerly, not wanting to spoil the fabulous designer coat he had donned for the occasion. "It's terrible, he absolutely slaughtered me…"

"So you made it past the initial Trainers, then?" Kurt held her back to look at her.

"Oh yeah, they were fine, very easy," Rachel dismissed. "But the leader he… oh goodness," she muttered before hurrying out of Kurt's arms and shooting off for the Pokémon Center.

Kurt's heart sank. Maybe he wasn't so ready for this after all.

He drew himself up straight and squared his shoulders. He'd been waiting for this moment his entire life. He wasn't going to stop now.

He pushed open the heavy doors to the Gym, but was stopped by a short puff of violent, red afro.

"Taking on the Gym, I see?" it said, and Kurt took a step back, an eyebrow raised. "Fire-types. Wes and David aren't exactly difficult, but let me tell you, the Leader's a doozy. Caricature? I could do one of you now and one after, crying in the shame of your defeat."

A Smeargle appeared at the ginger man's side, twirling its painted tail. Kurt forced a smile.

"No, that's fine," he said awkwardly.

"Jacob Ben Israel," the afro said seriously. He flicked out a business card towards Kurt, but it just hit Kurt in the forehead and fluttered to the ground.

"Smeargle!"

"Lovely to meet you." Kurt feigned an enthusiastic front, all the while feeling himself gain a pallor in anticipation. He shouldered past Jacob Ben Israel, clutching the Poké Balls in his hands tightly.

There was a large staircase, cast in marble, and he began to climb. He must have gone up three stories, because suddenly he was looking down at a set of three full-sized Pokémon stadiums, all connected by whirling, turning staircases with grand railings.

He trailed his hand down the banister as he peered around the place. It was pristine; beautiful trimmings adorned the walls, and golden tassels were everywhere he looked. The staircases had intricate maroon runners, with tiny fire designs around their edges.

At the end of the stairs, a rather gentlemanly African-American teenager leaned against a marble pillar with his arms crossed, a welcoming smile on his face. His uniform was navy, with red piping along the edges.

"Welcome to Dalton Gym," he said kindly. "I'm David."

"Kurt Hummel," Kurt replied breathlessly. David nodded amiably.

"I'm also your first opponent. So please take your place over there, then you can continue to the next level, where you'll face my associate, Wesley," David said. Kurt rushed to take his place, grasping at his Poké Ball containingStarly.

David pulled out his Poké Ball, but it was unlike any ball Kurt had ever seen. It was silver, and encrusted with a beautifully constructed crest. He tossed it up in the air, and it burst into a whirl of silver sparkles and energy.

A Cyndaquil stood before Kurt, waiting for its opponent.

"Pavarotti, let's do this," Kurt commanded coolly, twirling the ball up in the air and catching it flawlessly once the bird had materialized in front of him.

David smirked and muttered something to himself sounding suspiciously like "style" before addressing Kurt.

"Dalton decorum says guest trainer moves first," he smiled kindly.

Kurt raised a sculpted eyebrow. "Quick attack," he recited without hesitation.

The Starly moved so quickly that Cyndaquil didn't have time to even blink; he was slammed up against the wall in a millisecond.

David didn't flinch. "Ember, Cyndaquil," he commanded.

Cyndaquil hopped back on all fours and flared the flame on its back, sending hot sparks towards Pavarotti.

"Gust!" Kurt said quickly, and the bird flapped its wings just in time to create a whirlwind of air and embers flying straight towards Cyndaquil.

The fire Pokémon was caught up in the storm, wall decorations swinging in its wake before Cyndaquil came slamming into the ground, unconscious.

"Impressive," David laughed, calling Cyndaquil back into its Poké Ball. "I see you've prepared."

Kurt tilted his head modestly.

"Well you trained well," David offered, stepping aside to allow access to the next staircase.

"Thank you," Kurt nodded and proceeded past David and down the winding staircase to the next level.

There he met a second stadium, manned by a young asian man with spiky black hair in similar uniform, tossing a crested Poké Ball up and down idly.

"Wes," he introduced briefly.

"Kurt."

"I heard the commotion upstairs," Wes said, "And it didn't last long. Hopefully I can hold you off for a bit more time than that."

"Sounds like a challenge to me," Kurt countered.

Wes pulled out a Poké Ball, this time a bright gold. He pitched the ball downwards, and in a flurry of gold light, aTorchic materialized. It brushed its feathers for a moment with its beak. Kurt raised an eyebrow, and immediately threw out Pavarotti once more. He soared around the ceiling for a moment, staying high in the air, keeping an eagle eye on his enemy.

"Wing attack, Pavarotti!" Kurt shouted at his Pokémon. Pavarotti drew back its wings and darted towards theTorchic.

Wes had produced some sort of mallet, or gavel, and was twirling it languidly in his hand. He pointed it at Pavarotti.

"Torchic, dodge that!"

Torchic made a valiant attempt to get out of Pavarotti's beeline, but Pavarotti was much faster. There was a flurry of orange feathers as Pavarotti sliced past Torchic.

Thinking quickly, Kurt shouted out another command: "Quick attack, Pav!" Immediately, Pavarotti circled and slammed into Torchic, sending the Pokémon reeling across the polished marble floors. The Torchic attempted to stand, but its knees gave from under it, and it fell into a heap.

"Wonderful work, my good man," Wes complimented, a genial smile still on his face. "You've trained spectacularly. And with a Flying-type, too!"

"Thanks," Kurt repeated, feeling dazed at the politeness. He nodded briefly to Wes, quickly returning Pavarotti to his Poké Ball. He glanced towards the last staircase. His pulse was jumping fast.

Kurt descended the spiral staircase slowly, finding himself in a part of the gym with a domed ceiling that shed the colorful light of the sunset across the painted walls and marble staircase. The maroon runner was soft beneath hisfeat, masking the sound of his footsteps and leaving only for his ears to hear the hammering of his heart in his throat. He gazed skyward for help he didn't believe in as he fingered the Poké Balls on his belt nervously, descending just the few last steps.

And then Kurt stopped dead, and it felt as if his heart did too.

Standing at the foot of the staircase, leaning against the end of the banister was a young man, in uniform similar to Wes and David's with dark, gelled hair and a chiselled face, staring off into the distance, waiting. His hazel eyes glinted with a sparkling excitement Kurt had never seen before, his lips met cherubically, and his quirky triangular eyebrows settled peacefully across his brow.

So Kurt had always known he was gay. But this was without a doubt the most beautiful man he had ever seen.

His legs realized that this was the Dalton gym leader before his brain or heart did, and carried him down the remaining steps. The gym leader turned, sensing his presence, and Kurt was stunned to see a large smile run across his face.

"Hey, I'm sorry but," Kurt paused, wondering why he felt the need to be so polite, "Are you the gym leader?"

The young man smiled impossibly wider. "I'm Blaine," he said, holding out a hand.

Kurt's face flushed as their hands met in a shake. "Kurt," he choked out.

There was an odd gleam in Blaine's eyes as he surveyed Kurt, like he were observing him not as an opponent but as some three course meal meant to be admired.

But this didn't matter to Kurt so much as the fact that Blaine was still clasping his hand did.

"Quite a ruckus you made up there," Blaine said, pulling Kurt down the last step and onto his level. Even on the same surface, Kurt was a good few inches taller but somehow he felt innately inferior.

"Well that was just a warm up," Blaine gave him an indulgent look. "Ready to rock 'n' roll?" He said, scrunching up his face and finally letting Kurt's hand drop to make the proper hand gestures.

Kurt laughed in shock. "I-yes, sure, you're on."

Blaine beamed and led Kurt by the hand to the middle of the grandiose stadium.

"Let's get straight to it, then," Blaine declared genially. Out of his jacket (the same uniform donned by both Wes and David), he produced his own unique Poké Ball; it had the classic red top, but the bottom was navy blue. It toowas emblazoned with the crest, but it was in a shimmering gold. He juggled it in his hand for a moment before tossing it to the floor.

Before the sphere hit the floor, a Growlithe emerged, tail wagging excitedly, eyes fierce.

Kurt swallowed heavily. He pitched his Starly into the fray.

Blaine kept his wide smile even as Kurt commanded Pavarotti to Wing Attack the fire puppy.

"Jump, Growlithe," Blaine shouted. Growlithe leapt into the air, coming almost as high as Pavarotti. The Starlylaunched himself towards the Fire-Type, nicking its side but not horrible damaging it. "Growlithe, tackle attack."

Growlithe knocked Pavarotti sideways, and Pavarotti stumbled but braced itself in the air by furiously flapping his wings.

"Tackle again!"

"Fly upwards, Pav, and Quick Attack!" Kurt said, feeling that instinctive pull on his gut.

Pavarotti beautifully executed the instruction, swooping up in the air, leaving Growlithe plummeting downwards. Then Pavarotti nose-dived towards the puppy, blasting it into the ground. Kurt smirked smugly. His Starly was small, but it packed power.

Growlithe wasn't going down without a fight. It jumped up once more, swaying slightly.

"Hit it again! Quick attack!"

Pavarotti shot again, knocking Growlithe to the floor once more. This time, Growlithe was unable to rise, and a red beam of light returned the Pokémon.

"You're certainly something," Blaine complimented brightly, causing a blush to appear high on Kurt's cheeks. "It's been a while since I've had a real challenge." He took out a second Poké Ball and twirled it in his hand. "But we're done here."

Blaine released his next Pokémon. A severe-looking Houndour appeared on the field, growling intimidatingly. Kurt saw Pavarotti visibly shudder.

"Don't let it get under your skin!" Kurt soothed. Pavarotti gave a tiny nod. "Fly high, Pav, you have that advantage."

Pavarotti swept upwards, flying in a circular formtaion to the top of the ceiling.

"Houndour, use Smog!" Blaine instructed.

Kurt whipped his head towards the Houndour in surprise, eyes widening. A Poison-type move. A blast of toxic fumes erupted from the dog's mouth, and billowed towards Pavarotti. THe bird Pokémon desperately began to flap its wings in an attempt to dissipate the green fumes, but he became surrounded.

"Pav!" Kurt shouted in dismay. Pavarotti fell out of the air, slamming into the marble with a sickening crunch. "Return!"

Pavarotti's damaged form returned to the Poké Ball, and Kurt stared at it. He kissed it briefly in apology. He flushed furiously when he realized Blaine was watching him with a fond smile.

"OK then. Um… right. Go, Eevee!" Kurt scrambled and Eevee burst from her Poké Ball. She bent low, legs ready to dash at a moment's notice. "Eevee, run the other way when it fires Smog at you. Keep it fast, and keep it tight."

Eevee chirped her assent.

"Bite, Houndour!" Blaine commanded, and the dog lunged towards Eevee with vicious-looking gleaming backed against the wall as it approached and dodged just in the nick of time, causing Houndour to crash into the side of the stadium and send some plaster on the ceiling falling to the ground.

"Tackle, while it's still disoriented," Kurt ordered, and Eevee slammed into her opponent just as it managed to get to its feet. More debris rained down from the cieling, and Blaine brushed off his lapels.

"Way to bring the house down," he said indignantly, and Kurt couldn't help but smile a bit at the way his lips pouted out before he spoke to Houndour again. "Keep going, Houndour! Smog attack!"

"Remember what I said, Eevee! Get a Quick Attack in when you can," Kurt yelled as Houndour leaped over the little dog, skidding backwards slightly as the greenish gas poured once again from its mouth.

True to Kurt's word, Eevee dodged under the gas and around Houndour to execute a perfectly aimed attack at her opponent's hindquarters, knocking it to the ground.

"Right in the ass," Blaine winced to himself as he called Houndour back. "Well done, I must admit. But sheer speed won't get you past round three," he beamed as he released his third and final Pokémon.

A Charmander emerged from the light, its eyes mischievous. It wore a devilish smirk.

Kurt scowled. He'd have to fight this… _lizard_… with speed. He knew that Charmanders weren't known for theiragileness, so he could use that to his advantage.

"Eevee, use Quick Attack!" he shouted to his Pokémon, and Eevee jumped from side to side, slightly disorienting the fire dragon. But Blaine didn't seem unnerved at all.

"Charmander, SmokeScreen!"

A terrible black smoke shot from the Charmander's mouth, covering the battlefield. Kurt desperately squinted at the mass, looking for his beloved Eevee. Blaine smiled widely. "Dragon Rage!"

Kurt felt his blood run cold at this command. Out of the smoke, a magnificent red light shone. In an instant the smoke was blasted out of the way, revealing that Charmander had released an enormous ball of energy towardsEevee. Eevee barely dodged it, but was singed on her left side, making the air smell like burnt fur. She stumbled sideways, panting.

"Vee!" Kurt shouted immediately, as a reflex. It wouldn't help her, but he had to do something. "Come on, baby, hang in there."

He desperately looked around the battlefield for something to help him. He noticed the enormous flame onCharmander's tail.

_He didn't have a Ground-type, but he had Eevee._

The idea sprang into his head, and the words came out of his mouth like clockwork: "Eevee, Sand-Attack!"

A bit shakily, Eevee pulled her paws back and shot the debris on the floor towards the Charmander. A cloud of dust surrounded them.

"Quick attack once more, Eevee!"

She darted towards the dragon, nicking its side. "Bite!" Kurt shouted, interrupting any command Blaine had been about to use.

Eevee's jaws opened wide, a rough energy surrounding the room, and chomped down on the Charmander's tail, ripping a cry of pain from the lizard. Kurt clenched his fist excitedly.

"Come on, Eevee!"

"Use Ember, Charmander!" Blaine shouted at his Pokémon. The Charmander reared its head back, fire gathering in the back of its throat…

"TACKLE!" Kurt shrieked, and Eevee bashed her skull against the Charmander, causing it to blow fire in the other direction. It stood woozily for a moment. Kurt's eyes grew wide, and he grit his teeth in anticipation.

The echoing of the Charmander hitting the marble floor reverberated through Kurt's body just as much as it did the vaulted ceilings.

There was a stunned moment of silence in which Kurt and Blaine found each other's eyes in shock, and then it hit Kurt like a freight train.

He had just won his first Gym battle.

"I- wow," Blaine smiled his mega-watt smile. "That was totally awesome," he enthused as he called Charmanderback into his Poké Ball. Kurt stood astounded as the gym leader even bounced on his heels a little. "That was the best battle I've had since, since I don't know when! Wow." He looked around aimlessly, and Kurt still stood frozen in silence, even as Eevee padded over and curled into a ball at his feet.

"Oh!" Blaine finally started. "Come here, you deserve this, like way more than deserve this."

He started towards the center of the stadium and Kurt automatically mirrored the action, collecting Eevee back into her Pokéball along the way.

Once they had met in the middle Blaine rummaged in his pockets and pulled out a gleaming pin; the Gym badge. It was engraved with a canary encircled by flames,

"The Warbler Badge," Blaine explained, taking Kurt's immobile hand and pressing the glittering thing into it before encompassing it with both of his own. "It's all yours, fair and square. You earned it like no one has ever earned it before. And on your first try, too!"

"I…" Kurt finally spoke as Blaine released his hand. "Yes. Thank you," he breathed airily, adjusting his bangs with a practiced thumb.

Blaine laughed shortly, gazing at Kurt in awe. "You're something else," he said, almost to himself.

Kurt pressed his lips together so tightly that they must have been white. A stark contrast to his face, then; he felt his cheeks burning so hot that he didn't understand how he couldn't be bursting into flame. It would have beenappropriate. He was in a Fire Gym after all.

He squashed the hysterical giggles that threatened to escape his throat.

"Thank you," Kurt said once more. He held his hand out to Blaine, who took it swiftly.

His hands were so soft. Normally he thought of girls having soft hands. Blaine was that exception. But his handshake commanded respect with its definite firmness.

Kurt didn't know the proper etiquette to leaving a Gym that he had just defeated. He offered Blaine an awkward side-smile, which was returned. They stood in silence for a second before Blaine jumped, slapping a hand to his forehead.

"Oh! Right. The winner's door is over there, it'll take you around the back. It leads to the Pokémon Center so you can heal your Pokémon," he said quickly.

He put his arm behind Kurt and guided him towards the door, _still_ smiling.

"It's been really interesting. Thank you, Kurt Hummel. I think I have some battle reevaluation to do," Blaine said, his voice warm and genuine. Kurt beamed at that, and he nodded his thanks to Blaine one last time before leaving the Gym.

The sky was growing rather dim, but there was a lovely sunset to the West. He admired it for a moment before shaking himself.

He had to physically restrain himself from doing a jig outside of the enormous Dalton Gym.

He was on his way to becoming a _Pokémon Master._


	4. Don't Ever Look Back

Frantically, he dashed towards the Pokémon Center. When he came inside, Rachel was slouched miserably on one of the velvet armchairs. Nurse Terri had been rubbing her back soothingly when Kurt came in.

"You too?" she asked knowingly. "Blaine is pretty tough. Don't feel bad for losing to him, honey."

Kurt rolled his eyes at this insinuation. "For your information, I just _won_ against Blaine," Kurt snipped, feeling his chest shift mysteriously when he said the Gym Leader's name. Rachel's eyes snapped upwards, her mouth falling open, and Terri began imitating a Magikarp.

They babbled aimlessly all the way up the elevator, mostly consisting of Rachel switching between asking Kurt about Blaine's various facial features on scales of one to ten and asking for battle tips. He indulged her until Kurt swiped the key in the door, shooing her away with the promise of fresh food from the market after he had some time to himself in the shower.

Kurt chuckled as she skipped through the bathroom door to her own room and sighed.

He was going to be a Pokémon Master.

That felt good.

But not as good as the feel of Blaine's hand in his.

That spurred him into motion; he raced around the room, forcing himself to think of other things (things such asEevee and Pavarotti and Potions and Pokémon Centers and gelled hair and hazel eyes and oh. Fuck. ) as he gathered his things from around the room — towels, toiletries, fresh pajamas and underwear — before slamming the door shut in the bathroom and blasting the hot water.

Somehow he had gotten it into his mind that if the water was hot enough it would numb his brain, but it unfortunately heightened his senses. And made it so the only thing he could seem to think about was the Dalton gym leader.

It was just so difficult to get those eyes, sparkling with life and scanning over Kurt, out of his head. It really was juvenile; Kurt should have thought of things such as future gym battles, and his plans for tomorrow and the next town to pursue but none seemed to be as crucial to Kurt's brain as a certain someone's mega-watt smile.

God. Why did staying on the Pokémon Master track have to be so hard?

… Literally.

Kurt left the shower more frustrated than he entered it, toweling off and dressing quickly. But his fuming emotions dissipated once he opened the door to his room to find Rachel in her pajamas and ready to eat; the entirety of the feast Kurt had purchased laid out on the floor.

"Ready to celebrate?" Rachel grinned.

"Rachel, this is-" Kurt smiled, joining her on the floor. "This is- wait, didn't you have to cross the bathroom to get in here?"

Rachel shifted nervously. "I didn't linger," she said vaguely.

Kurt pushed aside her strange quirks in favor of the scrumptious food in front of him.

They sat cross-legged on the floor, laughing and flicking food at one another. They did a dramatic reenactment of that dog movie — _Vulpix and the Snubbull_ — by slurping a spaghetti strand until they reached the middle, and they fell back, hysterically laughing until they were coughing and crying.

"I'm so tired," Rachel complained as they lay on the floor. Kurt was focusing on perfectly balancing a breadstick on his nose.

"I'm not," Kurt said, the breadstick losing its equilibrium and falling to the floor. Rachel snorted and Kurt glared at her. "What?"

"You don't want to sleep because you'll just dream about Blaine," she sing-songed, and he rolled his eyes, not wanting to admit that she was probably right.

"Whatever, Rachel."

"I _totally_ understand, Kurt. I used to feel the same way about Finn."

Kurt gagged slightly, sitting fully upwards so he could mime heaving. She crossed her arms, glowering at Kurt until he was finished. "That's disgusting. That's gross. He's just this enormous pile of boy," Kurt whined. "Not to mention he's my _brother._"

"And what is Blaine?" Rachel asked, her voice hurt. Kurt raised an eyebrow. "100% man?"

This caused Kurt to laugh incredibly hard, his guffawing becoming contagious until Rachel joined him.

The next morning, they said goodbye to Nurse Terri, keeping it brief so that she wouldn't get weepy on them. She seemed the type.

"Where are we headed next?" Rachel asked interestedly.

"Haverbrook," Kurt replied, pulling out his town map. "I think we should restock on Pokémon food before we go."

"I've got that covered, I got some last night."

"Where do you find _time_ for all these errands, Rachel?"

"You called me Rachel!" she trilled happily. Kurt looked at her strangely. She smiled shyly at him. "You've always called me Berry. I don't know. It's nice."

Kurt didn't know what to say to that, so he just gave her a smile as well.

"The city limit is up ahead," Rachel commented, looking up the brick pathway. Everything in the town seemed to bepaved with bricks. "We have to make our way through Route 393, and cross Lake Parity on the ferry."

"Sounds good to me," Kurt responded, and took her arm in his. They began to strut down the path in a strange skipping formation, laughing when they failed at recreating the "_Wizard of Kanto_" scene.

"Wait!" came an urgent voice from behind them.

Kurt and Rachel stumbled around, arms still linked and smiles still wide to address their caller.

But Kurt's smile dropped immediately and he suddenly felt quite off-balance indeed.

"God, you guys skip so fast," Blaine Anderson panted, coming to a halt in front of them.

Kurt kept his mouth shut tight for fear of blubbering words spilling out.

"Blaine!" Rachel said, a little too loudly. "How nice to see you again!"

"So you two are together then," Blaine said, attempting a connection.

Kurt said "No" at the same time Rachel said "Yes" before switching positions immediately.

"I mean," Rachel interrupted as Blaine chuckled, "Yes, we are traveling together."

"But we're not together," Kurt finished.

"He doesn't roll that way," Rachel stage-whispered.

"Rachel!" Kurt squeaked.

"So we play on the same team," Blaine said, looking a little too much like an excited puppy for his own good. Kurt stifled his joy by observing him carefully and for the first time realized he was not in his uniform. He thought theprepster-cardigan look rather suited Blaine. So did dark skinny jeans, and high-tops. In fact, he thought homosexuality rather suited him as well…

"So," Rachel said brightly, wrenching Kurt away from his borderline-creepy once-over of Blaine, "What's up? Why are you here?"

"OK, this is going to sound weird," Blaine warned, his voice deep, his head lowering mischievously. "You're going to have to hear me out."

Kurt would listen to anything Blaine said if he kept talking with that voice. Rachel nudged him violently with her elbow.

"Yes, OK. What's up?" Kurt blurted. Blaine took a deep breath.

"I'm not cut out for being a Gym Leader," Blaine declared. Kurt's eyebrows must have hit his hairline. He glanced over at Rachel, who looked similarly surprised. She also looked rather scandalized; understandable. It seemed like Blaine was throwing away what was her _dream_. "As I said, hear me out. My dad kind of pushed me into doing it. He's a big funder at Dalton, it's big money politics, things like that.

"Anyways, I never got to go on my own journey. I was given my Pokémon. I didn't even get a chance to catch them myself. The only reason they've gotten so strong is that I've sparred them so often against Wes, David, Thad…" He listed a few more names, counting them off on his fingers. He shook his head, dropping his hand. "I don't want to stay so sheltered. It's all I've ever been. It's ironic that I give out the Warbler badge like it's something to be proud of when I'm most ashamed of being a bird stuck in a cage."

Kurt nodded, not fully comprehending the depth of Blaine's emotion. Blaine smiled, the grin coming out a little crooked.

"So, I was inspired yesterday. I figured some things out, talked to David, and Wes… reevaluation." He winked at Kurt, and Kurt's face went so red that a Cherrim would pale in comparison. "So, it all comes down to this. My dad's not going to be happy about it but… I wanted to ask you two if I could come with you."

It was silent among the three of them for a moment. "You… come with us?" Kurt choked in disbelief. Blaine shrugged.

"I like you a lot, Kurt," Blaine said seriously, and Kurt had to steel himself from swooning. "And Rachel… you have a lot of enthusiasm." Rachel huffed and folded her arms, but she smiled. "I don't know who else I would want to travel around with."

Silence again. Rachel elbowed him again, and Kurt nudged her right back, just a bit harder. Kurt inhaled shakily.

"We… well…"

"We would love to have you, Blaine," Rachel said quickly, interrupting Kurt's stammering. Blaine's face split into an enormous grin.

"Really? Wow, that's great! You guys, I'm serious right now, you're not going to regret this. I'll help you out however I can, and I'm a pretty good singer so we could sing songs while we walk and stuff…"

Rachel's eyes lit up and she began chatting animatedly with Blaine about different songs, and what key he sang in. Kurt stayed shellshocked. Blaine looked up at him and offered him a genuine, fond smile that Kurt couldn't help but return.

"You make me feel like I'm living a Pokémon dream-"

"THE WAY YOU TURN ME ON!"

"I can't sleep, let's train away and don't ever look back, don't ever look back…"

"My heart stops when you battle me-"

"Just one move, now baby I believe…"

"THIS IS REAL!"

"Let's train away and don't ever look back don't ever look back!"

So it turned out that Blaine was a nice addition to the team.

Once Kurt got the fact that Blaine wasn't a gym leader anymore into his head, it was easy to enjoy his presence, not feel pressured to impress him as a superior anymore.

Though he did have a strange urge to impress him in other ways.

That didn't prove to be hard though, because Blaine was instantly impressed by Kurt's singing voice. And his battle style. And his Pokémon. And just Kurt overall.

If Kurt didn't know any better, it was as if Blaine admired him. Ironic, considering that Blaine was the ex-Gym Leader.

After they had travelled for about two hours on the Route and had just gotten ridiculous with their three-part renditions of popular songs (some of their personal favorites turned out to be Pokémon Dream and Hey, SoulSkiploom), they stopped for some lunch by the very edge of the lake.

"The ferry doesn't arrive until five," Kurt read from his guidebook. "So we have a while to go."

Rachel bit her lip thoughtfully as she poured juice from the Thermos into each of their tin cups. "What's the next Gym's type?"

"Psychic," Blaine and Kurt said at the same time. Blaine cracked an enormous grin at Kurt, who returned a faint one back and ducked his head.

"Psychic, Rachel," he repeated.

"…Are you worried?" she asked, face concerned. Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I be?"

"Psychic moves are not usually that strong," Blaine began to say. "But what's really the thing about them is that the Pokémon themselves have really high Special Attack ratings. So when they hit you with, say, Confusion, it hurts."

"But that's not what I meant," Rachel said quickly, shaking her head. "The thing about Psychic Pokémon is that… well, they're _fast, _and that's what you've based all your battles on, Kurt."

Kurt staying silent at that, looking at the plum juice in his cup. He swirled it around once and chugged it. "I'm not worried," Kurt affirmed. "My Pokémon are strong."

"You only have two of them," Rachel pointed out, and Kurt shot her a look. Blaine shrugged.

"That's all you need. It's not about the quantity, it's about the quality." Kurt felt himself glow with pride at that.

There was a crash of glass. The three of them looked up, over to a seemingly-abandoned fishing shack. Blaine had leapt to his feet.

"Do you think someone's in trouble in there?" he asked anxiously.

"Blaine, stay out of it," Kurt monotoned, motioning for Rachel to refill his cup. She dutifully complied.

"I think we should check."

Kurt groaned as Blaine made his way over to the shack. He stood as well, helping Rachel up.

The shack door burst open, and there was an angry, drunken yelling.

"So ungrateful!" came a slurred voice.

"Whatever, old man," came another, obviously sober voice.

Kurt knew that voice.

David Karofsky emerged from the dilapidated shack, tossing a Poké Ball up and down. Upon spotting Kurt, he laughed aloud.

"What the fuck are _you_ doing here, fag?" he spat. Kurt flinched, and he could have _sworn_ he heard Blaine actually_growl_.

"I see you've gathered your little posse here to back you up. What, you're not afraid are you?" Karofsky sneered.

"Do you really have a right to be insulting me when you're the one who forfeited our last battle?"

Karofsky grabbed Kurt by the scruff of his collar.

"You listen here, fancy-"

"Knock it off," Blaine positively snarled, throwing Karofsky's hand away and shoving him a few paces back.

Karofsky looked ready to jump Blaine but paused once he got a good look at him.

"Wait a minute," he frowned. "You're-"

"That's right," Blaine glared at him. "I remember you now. I don't think I've been so disgraced to win a gym battle against such an uncultured swine. And if you were treating that man in there or Kurt here half as rudely as you were treating me-"

"What are you gonna do?" Karofsky shot defensively, but Kurt could see the fear in his eyes.

"One bad complaint from me of you to the Pokémon League and you'll be out of the running, stripped of your Pokémon and your right to adventure. And you're lucky I haven't even done that yet; the way you treat your companions is despicable. Don't push me."

Kurt stared, wide-eyed, at Blaine. Was this the same guy who had just been singing pop songs three minutes ago?

Karofsky looked as if he wanted badly to punch something. Specifically Kurt, the way he was eyeing him, but he restrained himself, letting out a shuddering breath and brushing past all three of them.

"Tell your fancy friends to mind their own business next time," he said as he shoved past Kurt with such a force to send him stumbling back into Blaine's startled arms. "Especially your boyfriend."

"You are just a horrible person," Blaine called as he made to launch himself after Karofsky, swaggering down the path. Kurt pulled him back, patting his shoulder.

"He really, really isn't worth it," Kurt soothed, and Blaine's shoulders sunk minimally.

"Who was that?" Blaine asked, a note of irritation still in his voice.

"Just a guy from my hometown. Ignorant," dismissed Kurt, waving a hand in the air. "The guy will probably try andgo around the lake now. At least we have a time advantage over him."

Rachel was shaking beside Kurt, so he put a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "David is scary, isn't he?" she said, her voice wobbling. Kurt shrugged.

There was a rustling in the cabin. Three heads turned to see an overweight man with an indigo-colored bottle dangling from his hand.

"I try to do _one_ nice thing, and this kid breaks my booze," he muttered. "Kids don't have any _respect_ these days."

"Sorry about that," Blaine apologized.

"Who the fuck are you?" snapped the man. Blaine looked extremely taken aback, his eyes widening and geometric eyebrows scrunching. He obviously was not used to rude adults.

"That guy was some asshole from my town. What did he do to you?" Kurt asked the man. The man grunted.

"My girl left me a few years ago. Standing at the altar," he grumbled, taking a swig from his bottle. Kurt raised an eyebrow; what happened to answering questions? "I'm ready to start over now. I drowned my sorrows for a few years."

"You're drowning them now," Rachel pointed out, and Kurt groaned. The man glowered at her and then focused on Kurt.

"As I was saying, I'm starting over now. I wanted to find some good trainers to take my Pokémon before I head toJohto," the man said.

Kurt's eyes grew wide and he squashed the grin that threatened to break his face.

"Well, I just got my first Gym badge," Kurt said quickly. "First try, too."

"Did you?" the man asked, blearily looking at Kurt's face. "You know what? Come inside real quick."

The trio looked at each other before walking inside the shack. Everything was musty, and dark. The man set the bottle on the table. It read _Drüle: Essence of Gloom_. Kurt suppressed a gag at that.

"Here," the man said. "My last one. This one was a bitch to catch."

He tossed the Poké Ball at Kurt, who caught it after a brief fumble. "It's yours. Just remember Ken Tanaka when you face the Pokémon League with it."

Kurt nodded dazedly. "You remember Kurt Hummel when I beat the League with it," he said, prompting a snort from the alcoholic. The man waved his hand, dismissing them from his shack.

"Get out of here now. I got to clean up this booze."

The three Pokémon trainers didn't wait another moment before leaving the cabin. Kurt looked at the Poké Ball wondrously.

"I wonder what it is," Rachel put in. Kurt shrugged.

"Throw it in the water and find out, Kurt," Blaine suggested.

"Couldn't hurt, I guess," Kurt said, and strutted to the edge of the water. He twirled the ball into the air. "Come on out, whoever you are…"

The beam of white energy zigzagged into the water and before them materialized —

"Wow," Blaine suppressed a laugh.

"That's…" Rachel trailed off.

"The ugliest damn thing I've ever seen," Blaine giggled.

The Feebas bobbed in the water furtively. "Baaaaaaassssss," it croaked.

Blaine and Rachel burst into hysterics and Kurt frowned at them, leaning down on the bank to beckon the fish towards him. "Now now," he reasoned. "Have you both forgotten the potential this little guy has? You laugh now but I assure you, you won't be chuckling once I beat you down hard with a Milotic."

Blaine stopped laughing immediately, cringing in upon himself just slightly.

"That's right Mister Fire-Specialty," Kurt held his chin high, standing up to poke Blaine's nose. "You thought you got beat bad yesterday? Well…" he trailed off suggestively, raising an eyebrow and turning back to Feebas, leaving Blaine helplessly speechless.

"I think you're lovely, Feebas," Kurt cooed.

Feebas croaked appreciatively.

Rachel giggled as Blaine cleared his throat awkwardly. Kurt returned Feebas to its Poké Ball and busied himself with checking its moveset while Blaine and Rachel gathered their stuff.

"It only knows Splash and Tackle," Kurt complained, putting a clenched fist against his hip. Blaine snorted, but put his hands up in surrender when Kurt whipped around to glare at him.

"There are always TMs," Rachel said meekly, and Kurt sighed.

"Yeah, but I don't have any money to buy TMs."

"I do," Blaine piped up, but Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt it. Your dad's not going to be happy with you leaving the Gym, right?" Kurt brought up. Blaine's face fell and he looked to the ground. Immediately Kurt felt a rush of guilt. "Oh, Blaine, I'm sorry…"

"No, you're right. But this is better. I really am taking my _own_ journey without help from my family," Blaine attempted, but he still didn't look as chipper as he had before.

Kurt felt the guilt settle deep in his gut and it was silent between the trio until the ferry arrived half an hour later. Poor Rachel fidgeted the entire time, scratching the back of her ankle with her other foot.

"The ferry!" she shouted suddenly, and the boys looked up. There it was; it was a magnificent affair, with enormous white water wheels and an impeccably sparkling deck. Rachel rushed to the turnstile as a crew member descended from the ship, and paid him for three tickets. She motioned to Kurt and Blaine, who rushed to her side.

"Welcome to the S.S. Evans," the crew member said optimistically. "I'm the First Mate, Sam."

"Nice to meet you, Sam," Rachel said, smiling sweetly. Kurt rolled his eyes and Blaine raised his triangular brows.

"Sam? Like Samuel Evans III?"

The Chief Mate immediately flushed high on his cheeks. "Uh, yeah…"

"We went to school together!" Blaine said excitedly. Sam looked at him confusedly, but his eyes lit up.

"You're Blaine Anderson! Man, I thought you were a Gym Leader now!"

"Not anymore. As of today."

"_What_?"

Kurt and Rachel looked at each other. Rachel shrugged, and began walking in front of the chattering private school kids. Kurt glanced at the two boys briefly, feeling his stomach twist for some reason. Suddenly he wasn't so fond of Sam.

"Yeah, we just couldn't afford it anymore," Sam was saying. "And we had the ferry to look after. It's a pretty lucrative business, seeing as there's no competition…"

"I get it, I get it," Blaine replied.

Kurt and Rachel walked along the edge of the ship, looking over the edge of the railing at the swishing water. A few more passengers boarded the ferry, then Sam drew up the bridge. The smokestack on top of the boat let out a plume of steam and a deafening roar before the waterwheels began to turn. Glancing over the edge, Kurt saw that the wheels were being helped to turn with the aid of Water Pokémon.

"Sam," Kurt interrupted distractedly, not thinking about whether Sam and Blaine were still conversing. At all. Sam stopped talking at once.

"What's up?"

"Are those Water Pokémon yours?"

"Hm? Yeah, they both are. That's my Spheal and my Buizel," Sam answered genially. Kurt nodded.

"Do you _make_ them do that work?" Kurt asked. Sam looked confused for a moment, but then his face turned stoic.

"No, I'm not forcing them to do anything," he said plainly. "They like when the ferry goes fast, so they just like to give it a little kick-start. Really helps us out too."

"I didn't mean to insinuate—"

"Nah, man, it's cool, I'd probably ask the same thing," Sam interjected, and his wide mouth twisted into a smile. Kurt awkwardly smiled back. Rachel was pinching the bridge of her nose and taking deep breaths.

"Word filter. Use it," she hissed at Kurt once Sam had walked back to the captain's booth. Kurt was horrified; hewas being told to shut up by _Rachel motherfucking Berry_. What had the world come to? He was the _polite_ one, the_classy_ one…

"Kurt," Blaine pulled him aside. "Be cool, okay? Sam's a really nice guy."

"I am the epitome of cool," Kurt said coldly, not sure where his passive-aggresive streak was coming from. "I just wanted to make sure that he's not abusing his Pokémon."

"Abusing his- Kurt," Blaine made an irritated face. "Please."

"Sorry for assuming the worst," Kurt said incredulously. "I'm sorry that I've had to grow up among oafs like DavidKarofsky who instill that in me."

Blaine's look of anger deflated immediately, and Kurt only had a split second to take in the pain registered there before the boat lurched with a sickening, muffled crash.

"Holy shit," Sam hissed, scrambling to his feet and leaning dangerously over the edge. "Shit, shit shit, shit shit!"

Kurt, Rachel, and Blaine hurried over to join him, dodging the amounts of panicking ferry-goers on their way.

Kurt gasped.

The side of the ferry bore a gaping, shattered hole where one wheel used to be, a suspicious looking torpedo bearing a mysterious crest in its place. The shards of the wheel were sinking into the ocean and the ferry was beginning to suffer, rocking dangerously to and fro. Sam's Spheal was propelling itself in panicked circles, in shock from the impact.

"What the fuck was that?" Kurt yelled, extremely frazzled.

"Spheal, return! You too, Buizel!" Sam shouted, pulling out his Poké Balls and returning his Pokémon. He turned to the trio. "Shit, this is _not good_…"

Sam's dad, the captain, came running onto the deck. "What hit us?"

"Someone fished us, Dad, we have to get to shore _now_," his son said urgently, and his dad nodded. Immediately both Evans men extracted their Poké Balls, throwing the Pokémon into the water.

An enormous splash overtook the ship as three Wailmers hit the lake's surface. Kurt gaped and flicked water from his fingers. Blaine shook like a wet Houndour.

"Come on, everyone!" Sam yelled to the Pokémon. "We need to get this ship as close to the shore as we can!"

The Pokémon made various sounds of assent and began to push the boat forward. People on the deck were beginning to panic, and Captain Evans furiously tried to calm them down. The boat was sinking rapidly, but it was speeding to shore faster than it had pre-torpedo.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Blaine fiercely. Sam shrugged helplessly, his hands finding his blonde locks and pulling.

"We just need to get to shore faster."

"We should send out a flare," Blaine said immediately, and Sam nodded. Without a second of hesitation, Blaine sent his Pokémon onto the deck. "Ember, everyone. Straight up into the sky."

Houndour, Growlithe and Charmander jumped past Blaine, running to the top of the captain's cabin. They tilted their heads upwards and blasted fireballs into the sky in perfect formation.

"Thanks, Blaine," Sam said quietly. Blaine just clapped him on the shoulder, not saying anything. The guilt that Kurt felt at that moment was so all-consuming that he had to brace himself against the vibrating white railing. Rachel patted his back, her face anxious.

"Unload anything you can," Captain Evans barked at Rachel and Kurt. "Anything that isn't necessary to getting this boat to the shore."

Kurt and Rachel were off in a flash.

Out went the spare towels, chests of food, free-standing chairs and tables.

"Lifeboats and life preservers," Sam called out to no one in particular. "Just in case." Blaine, who had just ran over to help Rachel and Kurt, sped off in the opposite direction to open a trunk at the end of the boat and fling out theinflatables.

These turned out to be of no use, however. After floating the boat just essentially more without unnecessary baggage, they made it to the opposite bank just in the nick of time. Sam sprinted to the side of the deck that they had originally boarded, flinging open the door and jumping out to the bank to lead the ferry to the dock as best he could.

"Everybody out, NOW," he projected over the panicked thrum of the crowd.

Captain Evans ushered the ferry guests into a somewhat orderly queue and they piled out, some slumping onto the ground in relief and some taking off on the path that would lead them to the next town. Blaine called his Pokémon back and he, Rachel, and Kurt were the last to leave the sinking ferry just as the police motorcycles arrived.

"Officer Olivia at your service," said the pretty woman with a severe haircut leading the crew. "How may I be ofservi- oh." She cast wide eyes at the failing boat.

"What sort of town are you running here, Newton-John?" Captain Evans bellowed angrily. "We just got _torpedoed_. Is there an undocumented naval war going on the lake that I haven't heard about?"

Officer Olivia rubbed her forehead tiredly and glared at the sea captain. "We have been having a lot of vandalism lately."

"This isn't vandalism!" Sam burst. "You call sinking a ship _vandalism_?"

"I never said that," she said coldly. "But the vandalism here is getting worse. And we can _never_ catch who does it. They made an entire building collapse last week. They just kept chipping away at this one wall… we didn't realize until it was too late."

Everyone was stunned into silence.

"Was anyone hurt?" asked Kurt.

"Four. It was an office building at three in the morning, so three security guards and one dedicated worker. But no deaths," the police officer replied. "But this isn't our main problem. The amount of stolen Pokémon…"

"Stolen Pokémon?" Rachel squeaked, and the woman glowered her into silence.

"Yes. I'd bet anything they were torpedoing you to hijack the ship. Your ship is well-known for utilizing Pokémon for help on board," Olivia explained. "All we can do is investigate the matter as deep as we can."

"You better," grumbled Captain Evans. Looking between him, Kurt saw that Rachel was trembling and Blaine was grinding his teeth. He sighed.

"Sam!" came a sudden female voice.

A purple blur flashed past Kurt and latched onto the blonde seaman. "I heard the blast, it was a bitch to get in here… Are you OK? Are you hurt?" asked the young woman, clutching at Sam's face and turning it from side to side to look for bruises.

"I'm fine, 'Cedes," Sam said warmly. She sighed and slapped him lightly on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Serves you right for worrying me like that! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"We were torpedoed, Mercedes…"

"_And_ you haven't called me in two days! Some boyfriend you are," she huffed, and Sam laughed beneath his breath. He enveloped Mercedes, hugging her tightly, and Kurt looked away from the intimacy of it. "Oh, man, Sam… I was just worried outta my mind."

"I know, I'm sorry."

Mercedes looked up and spotted the trio. "Who are they?" she asked bluntly. Sam straightened and gestured to each of them.

"This is Blaine. I went to school with him, he was a Gym Leader back in Westerville. And his traveling companies."

"Companions, sweetie," Mercedes corrected distractedly. She looked straight at Kurt, raising an eyebrow. "Boy, I know that is _not_ Marc Jacobs' newest collection."

Kurt's eyes widened and his hands flew to his soaked coat. "How in the world…?" Kurt wondered, and a huge smile broke out on Mercedes' face.

"I make it my place to know fashion, baby. You work it out, too!"

Immediately Kurt responded with an enormous smile. "I'm Kurt Hummel," he introduced happily, and she took his hand.

"Mercedes Jones."

Kurt's enthusiastic reply was lost in his throat when Sam lay a hand on his shoulder.

"There will be plenty of time for chit chat back at our house," Sam said, glancing at Blaine as if to sternly say 'Yes, you will be staying at my house.' "But let's try and get all of these people to the Pokémon Center to dry off and recover."

"Deal," Kurt said, jealousy of Sam evaporating in light of his new friendship. Mercedes linked her arm with his as Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, and both Evans men lead the group onto the path leading into Haverbrook.

Kurt could definitely see with his own eyes what Officer Olivia was talking about. The path took them through a small park of a forest, and not only were the benches littered with graffiti, but the trees were carved obscenely deep as well. In fact, most of the graffiti seemed to contain, in one form or another, a very familiar crest…

"Rachel," he muttered.

"I know," Rachel frowned. "The vandalism is just horrible, and we aren't even in the city yet."

"Did you get a look at that torpedo?" Kurt looked at her seriously.

"The crest," Rachel nodded stoically in return.

The trees filtered out and they finally reached the city. Kurt could have sworn he heard Blaine audibly gasp behind him.

It was a sight to see.

All of the buildings were extremely low, but they had roofs that twisted in a way that reminded Kurt of soft-serve ice cream. The cobblestone streets twisted and turned throughout the entirety of the town, which was, from the look of it, very hilly. The entire city seemed to be downhill of the enormous mountain that shadowed it, which Kurtinstinctually knew to be Mt. Intensity.

Rachel gasped in horror, and Kurt looked at her strangely. She pointed a shaking finger towards the town. Squinting, Kurt noticed what was the problem. Every building was coated in a cherry red "C." Some were just remains, seemingly blasted from the inside. A lot of them had eerie indigo burns along the walls.

"Is this town safe?" Rachel asked Sam shakily. He visibly swallowed.

"It gets worse every day," he said sadly, and Mercedes subtly took his hand in hers. "You know the Gym Leader doesn't even take challengers anymore? A lot of the trainers that would come, whether they lost or won, would get jumped as soon as they left the building and have their Pokémon stolen."

"Who is doing this?" Kurt demanded angrily and Sam's eyes darted up to meet his. He glared.

"Don't you think that _if I knew_, I would _do something about it?_" he growled, and Mercedes held him back by the shoulders.

"Whoa, big man, careful there," she soothed. She looked to Kurt apologetically. "Everyone who's gotten jumped doesn't talk about it. Too scared. I would be, too. But Rumba was a real legend around here. He's deaf, you know, and all his students are deaf too. Now they don't have a teacher 'cause he's too scared of the repercussions."

"That's just awful," Rachel whispered. Kurt glanced at Blaine, who was glaring at the ground with his fists clenched. He hadn't known Blaine for long, but he was already amazed by his righteousness.

"Well, let's get into town," said Sam, obviously exhausted. They began descending a set of steps into Haverbrook. Kurt's mind reeled with what he could do to help the town, especially the Gym Leader.

"Don't bother," Mercedes said softly to Kurt. She'd separated from her boyfriend. "It's tough for all of us right now. The best thing for you to do would be to continue on your journey and come back when things are figured out. Get your Badge then."

"I couldn't do that!" Kurt exclaimed, scandalized. Both Blaine and Rachel looked at him, alarmed, but he just waved a hand dismissively, shaking his head. He lowered his voice. "No, Miss Jones, I couldn't do that."

"The hell? Miss Jones? Hell no did you just call me Miss Jones." She smiled winningly at him. "It's Mercedes."

"Mercedes, then," Kurt tried, a smile creeping to his lips. "I couldn't just… leave this town. I mean, if things are so bad here, then _everyone_'s in danger, right? Besides, Blaine is obviously cooking up some sort of scheme to help you guys out. Look how focused he is."

Mercedes whistled lowly. "He's your boyfriend?" she asked knowingly, and Kurt flushed a bright red. "Oh, I knew it!"

"No, he's not!"

"But you definitely _want_ him to be, don't you?"

Kurt just moaned, embarrassed, and rolled his head backwards. Mercedes snickered good-naturedly.

"Here we are," Officer Olivia stated, stopping outside a rather shabby-looking Pokémon Center on the top of a hill. The one-story building housed several soft-serve-looking roofs, and pieces of the outer plaster were crumbling away. It was, admittedly, the best-looking building in the entire town.

The crowd filed wearily inside, and Kurt, Rachel, and Blaine were surprised to see that Nurse Terri was welcoming the guests inside.

"Nurse Terri?" Kurt asked once they reached her, and she flailed her arms slightly in surprise.

"Oh- I- well- no," she stuttered, eyes shifting suspiciously from side to side. "You must be mistaking me for my…uh- Sister. Yes, my sister. One of my sisters. There's one of us in each Pokémon Center, didn't you know?"

Kurt noticed she had begun to sweat in her flush. He rolled his eyes but before he could call her bluff she was muttering a sketchy excuse about restocking Pokéfood and scuttling off behind the "Employees Only" door in the back.

"Wow," Blaine beamed happily, "That's really cool how she has a bunch of sisters."

Rachel and Kurt looked at Blaine incredulously.

"Oh Blaine," Kurt sighed, shaking his head in disappointment and placing a hand on his shoulder to lead him into the hall where the rest of the crowd plus the Evans' and Mercedes had disappeared, Rachel tagging along in their wake.

"Everything seems to be in order." Sam folded his arms, glancing around the Center. "Everyone has dissipated. I mean, we did what we needed to: get them across the lake." He sighed heavily, sitting down on the the edge of a love seat. Mercedes sat beside him and rubbed his back. Exchanging glances, Kurt and Rachel drew closer together. Kurt leaned over to Rachel's side.

"Do you want to leave them alone? Sam's not looking too good," Kurt suggested, and Rachel nodded. She quickly repeated this to Blaine, who shook his head.

"I'll stay here. Could you pick up some Super Potions for me?" Blaine asked distractedly. They watched Blaine pull up a Poké Ball-themed ottoman and sit in front of the couple. Kurt bit back a sigh and let Rachel tug him along.


End file.
